St. Paul and Women - A lecture by Professor Alain Blondy

On Thursday 1 December at 6pm at Palazzo de Piro, Mdina

“Saul was born some years before or after the first century AD. As a young man he followed the teachings of rabbi Gamaliel. He converted and was baptised between 31 and 36 CE. He transformed the Nazarene movement into a universal religion, progressively distancing itself from the Jewish religion, and now opposed faith to the law, as “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law”. Paul was the link between the Jewish religion and the nascent Christian religion.

However, in the modern Western Christian world, St. Paul’s position towards women is considered retrograde. “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing... ” In reality, there is an evolution in the thought of St. Paul … ”

Alain Blondy, Professor Emeritus at the Sorbonne University, is an historian who has specialized in the history of the Mediterranean Basin, in particular, Malta and the Barbary States. Author of many volumes on these topics, he has also dedicated time to publish and re-edit unpublished sources, Similarly, he has translated Italian and English works of the late 18th Century and early 19th Century in order to enrich French bibliography.

Though teaching at University since 1968, he has led a double career, as technical adviser to the French Ministry of National Education (1972-1985), then as adviser to the Ministry for Professional Training (1976-1981), overseeing the professional training of youths. From 1988 to 1989 and from 1993 to 1998, he led the Sorbonne’s President Cabinet.

He has also been visiting Professor at the universities of Tunis-I, Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and Malta.

He is the author of many books and articles on the history of Malta, the Order of Malta, Cyprus and the Maghreb.

His principal works on Cyprus are a cultural guide of Cyprus (Arthaud, 1996), a history of Cyprus (PUF, 1998; translated into Dutch (2000) and Greek (2002).

Some of his latest works include: Nouvelle Histoire des Idées (Perrin, 2016) ; Chrétiens et Ottomans de Malte et d’ailleurs (PUPS) Malte, 7000 ans d’histoire (Editions Bouchène); Malte et Marseille au XVIIIeme siècle (with Xavier Labat Saint Vincent, Fondation de Malte)